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Help Protect Eagle Bluff in Clifton, Maine

The Access Fund is asking the climbing community for help to raise money to purchase Eagle Bluff in Clifton, Maine. The 160-acre property is Clifton’s most popular climbing area, according to Mountain Project, with over 130 routes and boulder problems.

Eagle Bluff has been a favorite local climbing area for decades. In the 1990s the property was listed for sale and a local climber, Donald Nelligan purchased the area with help from fellow climbers, John Barker and Ward Smith. Sadly, Nelligan passed in August 2013 and left no instructions for the future of Eagle Bluff. Due to liability concerns, Nelligan’s family decided to close public access and put the area up for sale.

“The people of Clifton see Eagle Bluff as a priority for both conservation and recreation,” Eric Johns, Planning Board Chair for the Town, told The Access Fund. “The Planning Board believes this unique parcel is critical to the development of outdoor recreational assets in the community.”

The Access Fund along with the Clifton Climbers Alliance has proudly announced that they hold the Option Agreement with the family. An Option Agreement means that the seller has given the potential buyer the first chance to buy the property, for a price, up to a certain date. The Access Fund has until August 1 to raise $150,000. According to the Access Fund, if this goal is met, it has plans to assign the option to the Town of Clifton, Clifton Climber Alliance or a local trust.

“This is an opportunity for us to make sure this never happens again, to ensure that this resource will be available for as long as people want to climb,” Jeremy Robichaud, treasurer of the Clifton Climbers Alliance told The Bangor Daily News.